Microsoft discloses Office 2010 UK pricing

Office 2010 is only available in three retail editions in the UK

Microsoft has announced UK prices for its forthcoming Office 2010 suite, set to ship in June this year.

Unlike earlier editions of Microsoft Office, there are only three versions (or SKUs) that will be available via retail in the UK: Office Home and Student, Office Home and Business and Office Professional.

Office Home and Student, which is aimed at families and students, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and the Office Web Apps for £109.99. This is licensed strictly for non-commercial use, according to Microsoft.

Office Home and Business, intended for small businesses and those working at home, has the same set of applications but adds Outlook and costs £239.99.

Office Professional is touted as the premium version for users with advanced needs, and includes everything in the previous versions plus Publisher, the Access database and premium technical support for £429.99.

Many users who buy a new PC after the launch of Office 2010 will also see a cut-down version, Office 2010 Starter edition, preloaded in place of the now defunct Microsoft Works.

To upgrade this to one of the three mainstream suites, customers can purchase a product key card costing £89.99 for Office Home and Student, £189.99 for Office Home and Business and £299.99 for Office Professional.

Two further editions of Office 2010 - Standard and Professional Plus - are enterprise editions available only to organisations with a volume licensing agreement.

[This story has been updated to reflect a price correction for Office Professional from Microsoft]